


Revolutionary

by Sapphylicious



Category: One Piece
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Gen, Slavery, headcanons galore, will probably be jossed later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-06 16:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1864554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphylicious/pseuds/Sapphylicious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Assorted drabbles and ficlets in no particular order about Koala and the turns her life takes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Watch and Learn

There was a skill Koala learned at Mariejois, though she didn't think of it as a skill then. As a slave she did her best to not think much at all. Thinking would lead to crying. Thoughts of home, so far away, would make her eyes prickle as if she was staring into a red sunset across the cacti-laden hills of Foolshout Island. Thoughts of her mother and the warm, soft memory of being held, having her face kissed, and listening to lullabies while being rocked to sleep after a bad dream made her throat burn to cry out. As if wailing could wake her up and she'd find herself in bed, and the light would turn on and she'd be swept up and soothed to the sound of a loving voice and the familiar chirping of crickets outside her window.

Koala stifled the cries whenever they threatened to well up and pour out. The smallest sniffle could be too loud, and yet louder still was the click of a pistol being drawn and pointed at the slave right next to her. She tuned out the watery noises at her side until pleas became a meaningless jumble of sound. How curious that was, but she thought nothing more of it. She thought nothing.

Her eyes, though, they were wide and open. They took in the sight of her master's face behind the glass of his helmet. The way dark, beady eyes were trained just to her left. The twitch of a fleshy cheek, the pull of thin lips. There was a crack of sound. She tried not to jump but did just a little. Her spine stiffened, she locked down into absolute stillness. Maybe he hadn't noticed. A weight bumped against her, then slumped down— _odd_ , she thought, but that was all. She kept her unblinking gaze on her master, whose lips pursed and pushed out, brow wrinkling. Unsatisfied. Those beady little eyes skittered towards her, searching.

She thought nothing. She didn't cry. The line of her sight lowered obediently, landing on the thick folds of her master's robes, then crept downward to the pistol still held in an outstretched hand. The tip of it was smoking, the flinty scent stinging her nose. She dared not twitch. Seconds ticked by and she began to sweat, unable to see what kind of expression was being aimed at her, what kind of fate it might hold, but her smile didn't falter in the least. Her eyes remained dry.

The pistol lowered, and the mass of robes heaved a gusty huff of breath, and then her master turned to trundle further along the row of slaves. The movement gradually disappeared from the corner of her eye. Koala breathed in, and the gunpowder in the air was flavored with something else. She couldn't imagine what it might be, but to her it smelled red.

_How funny_ , Koala thought before her thinking stopped. Her eyes burned, and she allowed herself to blink now that there was nothing to watch. Watching was important. Behaving well was important. She could behave well as long as she knew what to watch for.

#

Koala had seen fishmen before on Mariejois. They'd been slaves like her, so she hadn't thought much about them. She hadn't thought much at all.

She thought a little more now, like how the towering, funny-shaped rocks on the island almost looked like the giant cacti at home when the sun set behind them and blurred their outlines. The thought still didn't make her cry. She smiled instead, fixed on the searing brightness that burned low on the horizon until someone pulled her away, tutting about hurting her eyes. _That's right_ , she remembered. She needed to see. Needed to watch.

Maybe she didn't need to watch the former slaves she had escaped with so much. They were like her. They all knew how to behave well. That was reassuring.

When she saw the fishmen, though, Koala's eyes popped wide. Their flesh was in so many different colors, ruddy and steely and patterned, textured. They were giants. She'd heard of giants before, from her mother, how they were bigger than the hills of Foolshout. The fishmen were not so big, but surely they could be small giants. They had fins and flippers, scales and suckers, and rows of sharp, pointy teeth. They smelled salty blue and sticky red.

Fishmen faces were different from what Koala was used to, but they had eyes that peered down at her and mouths that frowned while she diligently made her greetings. She smiled and did not meet their heavy gazes.

#

The sight of a pistol in big-handed grip froze the expression on Koala's face. She neither trembled nor twitched despite the burning, blistering crawl of pain that seared her back.

"Watch," said the fishman, mouth full of teeth and eyes flaring under the hard ridge of his brow. Angry, angry red. She knew that color, the sight and sound and smell of it. The ship was awash with it. Her back seeped with it. Sweat dripped down the side of Koala's face, but she did as she was told and watched dutifully as a red hand waved the pistol. Her eyes tracked it and where it pointed at the air.

Then it was flying, tumbling in an arc over the side of the ship, falling out of sight to make a small splash in the sea below.

There was an offer on the tip of her tongue to go fetch it like a good, helpful slave when the fishman boomed, red and brilliant and burning like the fire that had scalded away the dragon's claw on her skin, "My crew… _kills nobody_ …!!!"

Koala's ears were filled with a unison of roars, with the clatter of metal hitting the deck, with booted and webbed feet stamping, and she watched like she was supposed to do but all she could see was a wobbling blur. Her cold sweat was washed away by a hot flood, eyes stinging, and there was red in her vision that spoke of home and it was like staring into the sun.

#

There were times when her mother wouldn't look her in the eye, but Koala never asked and no one ever said anything. There was no need. She saw it in the way the villagers' gazes slid sideways, felt it in the way they patted her on the head and told her how wonderful it was that she was home, safe and sound, better to just forget all that had happened in the past. It had only been a bad dream.

"That's nice," they said, and changed the subject when she told them about all the times Hachi had made her laugh with his games. She wriggled her arms and went, "nyuuu!" but that only made her miss him.

"Eat your dinner now," her mother said with a stiff smile as Koala described the strange new foods she'd eaten, some delicious and others questionable. One time the cook had served her a creature that was bright and wobbly, covered in spines, and just before her fork speared it Aladdin had snatched the plate away, explaining that a human would get sick after eating something like that. 

"They're pirates," the village mayor said before Koala even finished the story about when it had snowed and they'd all made snowmen right there on the ship. Hachi had tried to give his eight legs but they'd kept falling off. Arlong hadn't joined in, but she'd made one for him with an extra long nose. "They're dangerous folk when all's said and done," the mayor continued, puffing on his pipe. "They did some good returning you to us, but it'd be better for everyone if we never heard from them again. Only trouble can come from pirates… and they're fishmen, besides."

"There's nothing wrong with fishmen," Koala tried to explain. Her hands were fisted in the hem of her dress, and her smile felt plastered to her face. She could almost hear Hachi telling her to loosen up. At least she wasn't cleaning, he'd be happy to know that. "Sure, sometimes they can be scary, and they do smell kinda red, but—but the Sun Pirates are a warm red, and Tiger is really, really bright, it hurts sometimes but I think that's because _he's_ hurting and—"

"That's enough," said the mayor, and Koala fell silent because his bushy white brows were drawn together and the end of his pipe was pointed at her. It was not a pistol, but there was no arguing with it just the same. The mayor's face was old and lined, deeply set and forbidding. There was nothing she could say or do that would change his expression.

Even so, she thought about how to make the villagers understand. She thought about it a lot.

She thought about it even when ink smudged her fingers from gripping the newspaper too tightly, and Tiger's image on the page blurred and dissolved from the spatter of fat tears rolling down her face. Her chest burned worse than her eyes did, and it wasn't like staring into the sun at all.

#

The picture coming through the visual den-den mushi was slightly grainy on account of the snail's miniature size, but the image was clear enough to make out expressions. That was all Koala needed to see. She sat patiently before the glow of the screen and all was quiet save for the low, conversational voice being carried through the speakers. The audio crackled here and there, but it was nothing too debilitating.

There was only one man visible in the picture, tied up and facing the speaker who stood somewhere off-screen. The man's face was bruised, but otherwise as hard and unmoving as stone, staring blankly past the camera. Koala propped her chin in her hand and watched as their interrogator attempted to coax answers from the captive's firmly shut mouth.

"Tough nut," someone in the room muttered. "Maybe if we give his head another crack…"

"Not yet," said Sabo at the same time Koala shook her head without taking her eyes off the screen.

Anything, a flicker or a flinch would do—ah, there. A minute stillness. A single beat of a held breath, practically imperceptible, that went unnoticed by her fellow comrades. Koala kept silent about it for a while longer in case another instance cropped up, but the man was impassive once more. He was very good, and very loyal—a shame that loyalty was being wasted on a villain spreading a particularly nasty drug throughout the South Blue. But then, Koala suspected he had a good reason for being loyal.

She tugged on Sabo's sleeve get his attention. "Tell Raven to mention the mistress again." 

Sabo simply handed her the den-den mushi, grinning widely, and Koala relayed the instruction herself. Raven's voice on the other end didn't miss a beat as he received her words through the earpiece he wore, and seamlessly returned to the topic of the boss's favorite mistress. The captive went tellingly still once again.

"Got him," Koala said, soft and triumphant. Her attention remained fixed on the screen. "But go slow, feel around a little. I've got a hunch… no, no, don't insinuate that much." The man's face had darkened, and even in his restraints he loomed threateningly. "See, he's just getting angry. Yes, good. Take an understanding, protective approach."

Paper rustled behind her as the others dug up all the info they had on the mistress. Koala didn't need such references. The man's face was opening like a book to her. "Keep that up. Oh, good idea to mention your sister, I didn't even know you had one! Wait, you're lying aren't you? Ugh, Raven, you're such a—well, as long as he doesn't catch on."

Sabo chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder. "I think we've got this one. Tell Raven we'll guarantee her safety. I'll do so personally, he can add that."

The man's face showed no surprise at the mention of the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command. He really did only have that one weakness, but it was enough. He nodded in assent to the proposal. "All right," Koala said into the den-den mushi, "I'll stop backseat driving and leave the rest to you." She hung up and passed the device back to Sabo.

He took it in one hand and gave her shoulder a squeeze with the other. "Good work, ma'am, as always."

Koala turned her face up to see him smiling—beaming, really, and he was the easily brightest thing in their dreary underground hideout. She smiled back while tipping her cap playfully. "My pleasure, sir."


	2. Fishman Karate: Stance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was going to be one short ficlet divided into three scenes, but apparently I love Jinbe more than I thought I did so now it's three separate ficlets.

Either the marines had planned far ahead or the Sun Pirates' luck had taken an exceptionally bad turn. Jinbe was inclined towards the latter seeing how disorderly the whole affair appeared to be on both sides.

They'd had an encounter at sea just that morning. It barely counted as a skirmish; after firing a few shots and doing little more than rattling their weapons the marine ship turned and fled, much to their amusement. Though that probably had less to do with cowardice and more to do with the typhoon churning up the sea from the east. Brother Tai ordered them to not give chase on account of the weather, curbing some of the crew's thirst for blood, and they continued on their way to an island to restock on supplies.

They never lingered in human towns where the unwelcome was palpable, stopping only long enough for a team to buy what was needed before promptly setting off once the task was done. Arlong was vocal, as always, in his dislike of this strategy. Too much like running away in his opinion. Rather they should flaunt their power over the weak humans and simply take over the town. It would be easy pickings he said, and grinned his razor-toothed grin.

Part of Jinbe agreed that the hasty in-and-out didn't sit well with him, but Arlong's idea sat even worse, and Brother Tai would have none of it. The humans in town had done nothing wrong and were to be left alone.

On this island it was a trek from the harbor to where they could do any decent shopping, and their last supply trip had been quite a while ago. By the time they'd gathered all the food, medicine, and sundry items the crew and ship needed, their return to the harbor was greeted by the sight of a familiar marine vessel, and it was accompanied by another. Of the Sun Pirates ship there was no trace.

"Calm down," Jinbe said to the ripple of shock, unease, and knee-jerk outrage spreading throughout the small team. He eyed the condition of the harbor and marine vessels, neither of which showed any damage from cannon fire. They'd have heard that kind of noise from town, anyway. There were signs of agitation among the humans, but no wounded. No fighting had occurred. "Boss must have taken the ship around before they could be trapped. We'll find them somewhere off the coast."

"More running?" Arlong sneered down the sawed length of his nose. "Another ship could be chasing ours down now. I say we make a mess of the human filth, steal a ship, and then meet up with our brothers victorious."

"If it was only the one ship, maybe. But two?" Jinbe shook his head. "The disadvantage is too great. Come, if we find more marines after our brethren we will fight, but our priority is first reuniting with them." He took the lead back down the road towards the town. The sooner they got out of sight, the better. 

"Here, lemme get that," said Hachi, bending to lift a crate off of Koala's small shoulders with one of his many arms. Her back unbowed as the weight was suddenly removed, and she looked up in surprise. The child had insisted on helping and there had been no harm in it at the time. But then, they were pirates after all, never fully out of danger's reach.

"I can carry it! I can help!" She was beginning to get that look on her face, eyes widening and a smile at the ready. Hachi's face fell.

There was no time to talk her out of the mindset. Jinbe scooped her up and settled her in the crook of his arm where she obediently stayed. "Let's go!"

The island was craggy and filled with pockets of forest, making it difficult to stick close to the shore. After a while Aladdin moved up beside Jinbe to speak quietly.

"They'll come after us soon. The locals will tell them we were here."

The faces of the humans in town flashed in his mind. Some disgust, some anger, and a lot of fear. Of course they would turn to the marines for help, even if the fishmen had done nothing to them. Jinbe and his brethren were pirates and monsters in their eyes. Koala had been scared of them at first, too. Now she clung tightly to the front of his kimono, and her expression had lost some of its stiffness. An actual frown had appeared, and it was a preferable sign of distress over the frozen smile. She could smile genuinely sometimes with them, and laugh, and cried a little once when Arlong yelled at her, though Jinbe couldn't say he was pleased about that last one. Koala didn't seem to hold anything against Arlong, though, for all that he lost his temper and took his so-called "jokes" too far. 

It was a shame they could not take Koala to Fishman Island to meet Queen Otohime. The queen would have liked the human girl very much. 

Aladdin was right, and the marines did catch up to them. As ill luck would have it, the Sun Pirates wound up with their backs to a cliff. Jinbe cursed the terrain and prepared to fight while Arlong laughed eagerly, too intent on blood to say, "I told you so." 

They dropped the supplies and shoved them towards the base of the cliff, and Jinbe deposited Koala along with them. He pushed crates into a crude barricade while Aladdin drew away the ones that contained combustible material. Koala hunkered down with her mouth in a firm line, brave for such a tiny, young thing. She didn't make a sound as battle erupted in the small clearing. She didn't blink either, head bobbing slightly under a pat from Jinbe's big hand. "Stay down," he said, and turned around to take a stance in front of her.

Gunshots rang out and steel clashed. Hachi wrangled weapons from the marines until he was wielding one in each arm, the daunting sight alone enough to have an effect on the enemy's morale, but the humans outnumbered them greatly. A spray of water bullets from Chew slowed them down, but a few broke through and came at Jinbe.

His fist punched the air well before they could reach him. They had a moment to hesitate in confusion as nothing immediately happened, but by the time they decided to continue their charge the shockwave caught them and blew them back. A few of their fellows gaped as they watched it happen before falling to Kuroobi's blows.

Arlong was straying too far into the thick of the marines, caught up in the violence, and it was no use calling out to him. Jinbe set his jaw and stayed where he was, striking from a distance until the marines crowded his allies too close together and he switched to direct hand-to-hand.

As he thought, they would not win this battle of attrition. The marines just kept coming. There were no openings but he could create one for a brief moment, and then hold the enemy off long enough for the others to make a run for it. They'd have to forget about the supplies and only take Koala. The thought of losing the fight was decidedly sour but it could not be helped.

Jinbe pulled his fist away from the crater it had made in a marine's face and sucked in a breath to shout. Before he could get a word out, though, a familiar war bellow crashed through the trees and shook some rocks loose from the cliff. There was a stunned split-second of silence, and then a great, resounding cheer went up among the Sun Pirates as Brother Tai appeared, teeth bared in a grin, and more of their crew at his back.

"Jinbe! You were taking too damn long, so I thought I'd lend a hand."

Jinbe snorted, blocking a downward sword strike with his palm and turning the blade aside where he glimpsed his own grin reflected in the metal. A straight punch at the opponent's unprotected side sent the marine flying. "Sorry for the trouble, Boss."

The marines converged on the captain in an attempt to remove the head from the body. A sound enough strategy, but not so effective in the face of Brother Tai's enormous strength as he took out half a dozen men in one swing. "No matter, let's finish this quickly so we can take everything back to the ship."

"Yes, Boss!" Jinbe spared a glance behind him to confirm their young charge was still safe behind a wall of crates and barrels. The top of her head showed as she stood on tiptoes to see, the dark worry on her face brightening at the sight of Brother Tai. _That child, I told her to stay down_. On the heels of that aggrieved thought came a burst of splintering wood as a bullet punched through one of the barrels.

Koala flinched, then froze with her eyes going round and her face draining white. The shot had missed her, thank all the higher powers Jinbe may or may not have believed in, leaving only a spout of water leaking out from the barrel. Snarling, he gathered several droplets and hurled them with piercing velocity in the direction of the marines.

In the end they managed to escape back to the ship with no major losses. A bit of bruised pride in some cases, but injuries were otherwise minor and they'd even salvaged most of what they'd bought. The incident was for the most part forgotten about.

It was a few days later, though, that Jinbe noticed he'd acquired a child-sized shadow joining him as he went through his daily morning practice. He and the rest of the crew had grown used to Koala being a quiet observer of everything that happened onboard, so he thought little of it at first, greeting her when she arrived without breaking from his forms.

Despite Hachi's efforts, she was still not good when it came to asking things or voicing her thoughts unless requested. If not for Aladdin's attentiveness, it might have been days before anyone realized the mark of the sun on her back had gotten infected. And so it wasn't until Koala began mimicking his routines that Jinbe had an inkling of what she wanted.

He would admit that the thought initially made him hesitate. Fishman karate was, after all, a very traditional practice, and heavily reliant on the relationship his kind had with the sea. It was part of their unique culture, not made for humans, and not a game for children. Arlong wouldn't stand for it, and Kuroobi had grumbled about Koala's clumsy moves as if she'd been intentionally mocking them.

Of course, no insult was meant on her part. She was a child still, innocent of such prejudices, and whenever it occurred to them to ask she was nothing but honest with her opinions.

So Jinbe saw no harm in asking one morning, "Child, are you interested in learning fishman karate?"

A genuine smile made the corners of her eyes crinkle, face bright with the sun's rays shining on it. "Yes!"

Try as he might, Jinbe could not imagine how such straightforward honesty, such willingness to learn, could be a bad thing. And it would be good for her to know a little in the way of defending herself. They would part once they'd reached her hometown so there no time for serious training, and as expected there were some members of the crew who did not approve. Brother Tai was steadfastly neutral, neither for nor against the idea. Jinbe had reached his own conclusion, though, and so he ignored the protests. For the rest of the mornings they sailed together he corrected her stances, showed her how to throw a straight punch, and taught her a few simple forms. He did so with sincerity and pride, and an unexpected bloom of embarrassment when she called him "sensei."

**Author's Note:**

> I attempted to stick with a theme but in the end it got all disorganized. I just want a place to toss together all my Koala headcanons though so whatever.


End file.
